DAY 4 HAS COME TO AN END AND I MUST SAY A SUCCESS!! THIS IS BEEN AN EXPERIENCE THAT WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE. IT HAS BEEN PHYSICALLYAND EMOTIONALLY DRAINING. I PERSONALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE CONSTRUCTION END OF THIS MISSIONS TRIP AND WHAT A BLESSING(WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LONG RIDE UP THE BUMPY ROAD ON THE MOUNTAIN). THE VILLAGE IN WHICH WE ARE GOING TO IS CALLED “ORANGE”( I HOPE I SPELLED IT RIGHT).. WE HAVE BEEN THERE NOW FOR TWO DAYS WORKING AND ITS JUST AMAZING HOW THEY HAVE EVERYTHING ON SOMETHING YOU WOULD NEVER IMAGINE COULD BE THERE. THESE PEOPLE OF HAITI CAN MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING. THEY HAVE BEEN MORE A BLESSING TO ME THAN I BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN TO THEM. THEY HAVE TAUGHT ME SO MUCH. WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE THERE FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS TEARING DOWN A WHOLE WALL OF THE CHURCH, YES YOU READ CORRECTLY, A WHOLE WALL.

WHEN WE GOT BACK WE WERE ABLE TO SEE BERTA AND PASTOR LEO AS THEY ARRIVED TODAY AT 10AM.

AFTER THE MORNING ASPECT OF OUR DUTIES, WE WENT TO DO AN OUTREACH TO A VILLAGE CALLED “MINNOW TREE”. JUST A LITTLE SIDE NOTE HERE: ITS JUST AMAZING HOW AS SOON AS WE ARRIVE TO PLACES HOW THE LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS JUST LATCH ON TO YOU AND DON’T LET YOU GO. THEY JUST SEEK LOVE. CONTINUING, WE STAGED ALL OF OUR STUFF IN THE MIDDLE OF A BASKETBALL COURT. WE PLAYED BASKETBALL AND SOCCER WITH THEM BEFORE WE BEGAN TO MINISTER. IT WAS A BIT OF AN AWKWARD MOMENT CAUSE THEY ARE LOOKING AT US LIKE “WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE DOING HERE?” AND WE JUST TRY TO FIT IN WITH THE WIDE VOCABULARY OF CREOLE, LOL. LET ME TELL YOU THANK GOD FOR OUR TRANSLATORS: WIKI AND SHADRACH. THEY ARE SUCH BLESSING. SO AS WE GATHERED EVERYONE ON THE COURTS AND SETTLED EVERYONE, WE BEGAN TO WORSHIP, THEN WE SHOWED THE SKIT AND RICKY SHARED AN AMAZING WORD TO THESE PEOPLE. AS PASTOR CLOSED THE OUTREACH AND MADE THE CALL FOR THEM TO COME UP FOR PRAYER THERE WAS A MOMENT THAT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. HOWEVER, AS THE LORD IS FAITHFULL ONCE ONE CAME THEN ANOTHER, THEN ANOTHER AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT THERE STAGE IS FULL OF PEOPLE WANTING PRAYER. I WAS ABLE TO MINISTER TO A YOUNG MAN AND THE LORD SPOKE CLEARLY TO HIM AND HE WAS TOUCHED TREMENDOUSLY. AFTERWARDS, WE GAVE CANDY TO THE KIDS AND THEY WERE LOVING LIFE!!

HAITI IS A NEEDY COUNTRY PRE AND POST EARTHQUAKE AND I BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS CALLED US TO COME HERE AT A SUCH AS THIS TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THEM AND SHOW THEM THE REME OF JEZI(THAT’S THE LOVE OF JESUS).

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!! TELL MY WIFE I MISS HER AND THE KIDS PLEASE!
BENJI BENE U! (GOD BLESS YOU!)

ROGER


DAY 4 ~ WOW! WHAT A DAY IT HAS BEEN... TODAY AFTER MORNING DEVOTIONS THE GIRLS AND I HEADED DOWN TO THE HOPE HOUSE (ORPHANAGE HERE AT M.O.H.) TO SPEND TIME WITH THE CHILDREN. WE TOOK CRAFTS AND LITTLE NECKLACES WITH A CROSS CHARM FOR EACH ONE OF THE KIDS. THEY WERE SO HAPPY AND GRATEFUL FOR EVERY LITTLE THING YOU DO FOR THEM. WE SANG WITH THE KIDS WITH JOHNMARK LEADING... THE LAST FEW DAYS I HAVE SPENT ALOT OF TIME GETTING TO KNOW HIM. HES A 14 YR OLD BOY NAMED "JOHNMARK" .. I AM SO TOUCHED BY HIS STORY. HE IS FROM THE VILLAGE WE VISITED TODAY TO DO AN OUTREACH AT AND HE LIVED THERE WITH HIS MOTHER. HIS MOTHER BECAME ILL AND PASSED AWAY WHEN HE WAS JUS 10 YRS OLD. HE DID NOT KNOW WHO HIS FATHER WAS AND HE KNEW HE HAD A BROTHER AND SISTER BUT THEY LIVED IN OTHER VILLAGES. WHEN HIS MOTHER PASSED AWAY HE REACHED OUT TO HIS BROTHER WHO TOLD HIM THAT SHE WAS NOT HIS MOTHER SO HE DID NOT CONSIDER HIM AS A BROTHER. HE THEN TURNED TO HIS SISTER BUT SHE TOLD HIM THAT SHE HAD HER OWN FAMILY AND COULD NOT CARE FOR HIM. JOHNMARK WAS LEFT IN THE VILLAGE ALONE, BASICALLY HOMELESS WITH NO FAMILY. AS I SPOKE WITH HIM HE SHARED THAT HE FELT HEARTBROKEN AND HOPELESS.. AFTER A FEW MONTHS OF BEING HOMELESS HE MET SOMEONE WHO CAME TO HIS VILLAGE TO SHARE JESUS AND HE ACCEPTED THE LORD THAT DAY AND SAID HE WAS FILLED WITH SO MUCH HOPE AND JOY.. JOHNMARK CAME DOWN TO THE MISSION OF HOPE AND ASKED TO SPEAK TO THE PASTOR, WHO TOOK HIM IN. JOHNMARK HAS BEEN LIVING AT HOPE HOUSE FOR FOUR YEARS NOW.. THIS BOY LOVES THE LORD WITH ALL HIS HEART! I AM SO ENCOURAGED WHEN I SPEND TIME WITH HIM BECAUSE HE IS SO FULL OF JOY DESPITE ALL THAT HE HAS BEEN THROUGH IN HIS 14 YEARS OF LIFE. WE SANG THE SONG "IM TRADING MY SORROWS, IM TRADING MY SHAME, IM LAYING THEM DOWN FOR THE JOY OF THE LORD" AND THAT SONG HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CLEAR TO ME THEN WHEN I HEARD HIM SINGING IT. BECAUSE HE CAN DEFINITELY SING IT AND MEAN IT BECAUSE HE HAS LIVED IT. THESE CHILDREN HERE ARE BEING TAUGHT ABOUT THE LORD AND WHEN YOU SEE THEM WORSHIP IT IS THE PUREST FORM OF WORSHIP. THERE HOPE TRULY IS IN CHRIST! WHAT A BLESSING IT IS TO BE HERE SPENDING TIME WITH THEM AND SHOWING THEM LOVE. THESE CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE PASTORS OF THIS VILLAGE.
IN THE AFTERNOON WE WENT TO A NEARBY VILAGE TO DO AN OUTREACH AND MANY PEOPLE CAME UP FOR PRAYER. THE PEOPLE WERE VERY RECEPTIVE. WHEN THE PASTOR ASKED PEOPLE TO COME UP FOR PRAYER SEVERAL PEOPLE CAME FORWARD. A 6YR OLD BOY ALSO CAME UP AND WHEN I BEGAN TO PRAY FOR HIM HE GRABBED MY HAND AND ASKED ME TO PRAY FOR HIS MOTHER AND WHEN I ASKED HIM WHERE SHE WAS HE TOLD ME THAT SHE DIED IN THE EARTHQUAKE. I BECAME SO EMOTIONALLY OVERWHELMED AND JUST HUGGED HIM AND HELD HIM WHILE PRAYING FOR HIM!
I HAVE BEEN BROKEN IN SO MANY WAYS SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE! THIS TRULY HAS BEEN A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. THE FIRST DAY THAT I SPENT HERE IN HAITI I QUESTIONED MYSELF AS TO WHY I WAS HERE.. HAD I ACTED ON EMOTION WHEN I VOLUNTEERED? I FELT THAT I HAD MADE A MISTAKE COMING BECAUSE I WAS STRUGGLING SO MUCH WITH THE PHYSICAL ELEMENTS (IT IS SUPERRRR HOT HERE AND IF YOU KNOW ME YOU KNOW THAT I DONT LIKE TO SWEAT,LOL) AND BY THE EVENING I WENT TO TOMMY ABOUT TO CRY AND TOLD HIM I WANTED TO GO HOME, AND THAT I COULD NOT DO THIS FOR A WEEK. BUT AS THE DAYS HAVE PROGRESSED AND AFTER THE THINGS I HAVE EXPERIENCED AND SEEN I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT I WAS CALLED TO BE HERE. THE PEOPLE OF HAITI NEED HOPE! WE ARE THE HANDS & FEET OF JESUS AND MUST SHARE THE GOOD NEWS WITH THEM! AS FOR ME, MY LIFE WILL NEVER, EVER BE THE SAME! (TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD; BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO TAKES REFUGE IN HIM..PSALM 34;8)
GOD BLESS!

EDY ; )